1. iPad Game to Help Students with Cognitive Impairments Learn the Scanning Mechanism of Switch Accessibility Chris-Anne Correa, Mentored by Frank Wright from Kennedy Krieger High School (KKHS)
Mechanics of the iPad Game – ‘Switches are Fun’
Goal
Scores – The game keeps track of the score and shows the student’s progress in a visual manner. This data can be saved.
Several iPad Games are available with switch accessibility for students with cognitive disabilities. However, the cause and effect of the scanning mechanism of switch accessibility is not understood by students with severe cognitive impairments.
The current status of the project involves the completion of the high fidelity prototype – ‘Switches are Fun’.
Practitioner Vs Student Screens
Screens to set up the game are practitioner screens and not switch accessible. Once the practitioner sets up the game, it becomes switch accessible to the student. This allows the practitioner to customize the game to the needs of the student.
The goal is to make a high functioning prototype of a switch accessible iPad game to solve this problem.
Current Approach
With the help of the Assistive Technology team at Kennedy Krieger High School (KKHS), I gathered information regarding:
The needs and abilities of the end users of switch accessible iPad games.
The capabilities and issues of the already existing switch accessible iPad games.
I researched several switch accessible iPad apps and prototyped on paper to test out different designs and to find potential issues.
Finally using Axure RP – a prototyping tool, I designed a high functioning clickable prototype of a switch accessible iPad game called ‘Switches are Fun’.
Challenges
Animation – Even though Axure RP is a high functioning prototype, it does not allow for videos to be embedded , thus preventing the rewards animations from being accurate.
Audio- Axure RP also does not allow for audio. This prevents me from having a key feature of audio in my prototype. Instead I overcome this by recording the audio on my phone and playing it when the game is used thus, simulating audio.
Features of the Game
Personalization – Three games – odd one out, matching and identification. It also has an option to create a game. Within settings, number of boxes, type of box, speed of scanner, rewards and audio can be customized.
Visualization – The game is very colorful to grab the interest of students. It is also intended to have animations as rewards to keep them engaged.
Future Work
Complete the Final Report that is due on 15th December.
Fine Tune the prototype if any errors are found.